ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) Short Interest Update

ING Group, N.V. (NYSE:ING) saw a large growth in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,291,953 shares, a growth of 28.6% from the December 15th total of 3,336,245 shares. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 1,344,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 1,344,779 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 0.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ING shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of ING Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Cfra Research upgraded shares of ING Group from a “hold” rating to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of ING Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and five have given a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ING Group presently has an average rating of “Buy”.

ING Group Price Performance

ING Group stock traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.04. 1,666,209 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,498,911. ING Group has a 12-month low of $16.04 and a 12-month high of $29.21. The company has a market cap of $84.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $27.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.99.

ING Group (NYSE:ING) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.35 billion. ING Group had a net margin of 26.94% and a return on equity of 11.57%. Equities analysts forecast that ING Group will post 2.14 earnings per share for the current year.

ING Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced an annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 8th will be given a dividend of $0.2009 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 8th. This represents a dividend yield of 71.0%. ING Group’s payout ratio is currently 30.63%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Amundi bought a new stake in shares of ING Group in the 1st quarter worth about $760,000. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in ING Group by 27.0% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 87,240 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,709,000 after purchasing an additional 18,562 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of ING Group by 5.4% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 21,329 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $418,000 after buying an additional 1,094 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ING Group by 4.0% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 21,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 808 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of ING Group by 19.5% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 16,823 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 2,745 shares during the period. 4.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ING Group Company Profile

ING Group N.V. is a Dutch multinational financial services company headquartered in Amsterdam. Formed through the consolidation of Dutch financial businesses, ING operates as a banking and financial services group that serves retail, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporates and institutional clients. The company is organized under a two-tier governance model common in the Netherlands, with an Executive Board responsible for day-to-day management and a Supervisory Board providing oversight.

ING’s principal activities include retail and direct banking, commercial and wholesale banking, corporate lending, transaction services and cash management, and a range of investment and savings products.